I am reading\u00a0the book of Jude and he said in verse 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”<\/p>\n
What exactly does it mean to contend for the faith?\u00a0 Does it mean when we are talking to others who have said that they are Christians but believe in things that are not scriptural, or does it mean just talking to those who are members of the church we attend that have decided to follow other teachings that are not in the Bible?<\/p>\n\t
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>” (Jude 3-4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
By adding in the context we see that Jude is urging Christians to do battle to keep the faith as it was originally delivered against the false teachers who had already begun to appear among the disciples and changing the truth for lies.<\/p>\n
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 1:6-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Whether the influence for falsehood comes from within or without, the need to remain faithful to the truth remains the same.<\/p>\n
“And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked<\/em>” (II Peter 3:15-17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I am reading\u00a0the book of Jude and he said in verse 3, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” What…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[478,892,76],"class_list":["post-18123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-false-teachers","tag-jude","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9311,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/once-for-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":0},"title":"Once for All","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Billy Norris via Gospel Guide, Vol. 27, No. 12, December 1995 \"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8704,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-you-explain-what-apologetic-writing-is\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":1},"title":"Would you explain what apologetic writing is?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please explain what is 'apologetic writing'? I have noticed this phrase before and do not understand it. Thank you. Answer: Apologetics comes from the Greek word\u00a0apologia, which means to defend a position against an attack. It should not be confused with the English word \"apology,\" which means\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/once-for-all-delivered\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":2},"title":"Once for All Delivered","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton \"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints\" (Jude 1:3). This last phrase means the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32187,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-christians-always-try-to-justify-the-bibles-error\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":3},"title":"Why do Christians always try to justify the Bible’s error?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Peace be with you, My dear friend, why do Christians always try to justify the Bible's error? Answer: \"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27254,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-know-for-sure-that-god-speaks-to-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":4},"title":"I know for sure that God speaks to me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi.i can I no 4show that i heard from god,wit any doudt,the are lots voices ,I need to hear gods voice [Left unedited] Answer: \"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,\u00a0has in these last days spoken to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17731,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-jude-said-the-faith-was-once-delivered-could-revelation-be-included-if-it-was-written-after-jude\/","url_meta":{"origin":18123,"position":5},"title":"If Jude said the faith was once delivered, could Revelation be included if it was written after Jude?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about whether Jude was written before Revelation or not. If everything was once and all delivered to the saints does that make Revelation a newer testament or is it ok because it coincides with the rest of the Bible? 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